Loyalty of the Crew
by Jay-with-Splice
Summary: A look into the Boss' work helping out the members of his crew, hoping to earn their loyalty until the end.
1. Chapter 1: Nytefall

Fingers worked diligently at the keyboard; it was all the Boss could hear, echoing in his ears and creating an annoyed atmosphere. Sure, Kinzie was amazing with all this high-tech junk, and she was even better battling the simulation and overriding it slowly, but sometimes the Boss wondered if she ever really relaxed.

When it came down to the surviving members of his crew, she seemed to be the only one who worked nonstop. Pierce read magazines in the lounge and occasionally played pool with Keith. Asha would exercise with the equipment that was available on the bottom floor, when Johnny often practice throwing knives with his daggers on a dart board nearby. Ben worked day and night on the sequel to his book, and Matt could sometimes be found playing on a handheld device or watching Nyteblade.

Speaking of Matt, the hacker had recently talked to him, explaining how the man needed his help with something he had been working on. It annoyed the Boss to know that the kid wouldn't give him anymore information then that, and he felt left in the dark. It was the same lost feeling he got whenever he couldn't understand what Kinzie talked about.

His yellowish eyes scanned the room, watching Kinzie stand and walk confidently back towards her usual spot with her laptop tucked underneath her arm. This was his chance. His tattooed fingers went to his wrist, pressing into the buttons on a small, metal bracelet there. A green, holographic screen popped up, displaying a series of apps. In the upper left was the Map of his simulation. Opposite of it was his Powers menu. In between the two were the Missions he currently had to do.

The Missions icon was selected, and he pulled his lips into a light snarl. There was a list streaming down beneath his side-quests, each mission from members of his crew. Miller's just happened to be the very top of the list. If the Boss continued to lounge around like this, he would be wasting the precious time he could have been using in order to rip Zinyak's fucking head off. A breathy sigh, and his fingers brushed over Miller's quest. He waited for it; waited for the kid to discover his mission was chosen. And he heard it.

"Really?!" The Boss heard Miller's excited cry, and he shook his head swiftly and heaved himself up on his feet. He bee-lined for the chair, stepping up onto the platform and letting the restraints calmly fold over him. The Boss let his eyes drift shut as he let his mind go blank.

When he opened his eyes again, the Boss stood within the simulation. Towering, yet flickering buildings were a better sight than the emptiness of space. The simulated version of Steelport damn near resembled the real version; everything was the same and it gave the Boss a feeling of nostalgia. The Earth was gone and he was left with this phony version. Hands ran through his trimmed, brunette hair, the Boss' eyes flickered when he heard the telltale sound of someone trying to get in contact with him.

"I have a matter that could use your expertise!" Miller's voice exclaimed in a near excited tone. The Boss wanted to rub his temples already. He didn't know whether or not doing this quest for the kid was a good thing.

"What kind of expertise?" The Boss asked in a reluctant tone, brushing imaginary dust off the simulated suit he was wearing.

"I've devised a training simulation wherein a highly trained vigilante has requested our assistance in clearing the city of a long-standing menace!" Matt seemed elated that the Boss had chosen to complete this, and the Boss could just barely hear the bounce in the hacker's tone.

"That sounds pretty vague, Matt-"

"I promise you that it's the finest simulation I've ever crafted!" Matt was quick to interrupt and the Boss wanted to punch the kid for interrupting him. "Meet me at the Three Count!" He piped in, before it went silent in his mind. A deep, hefty breath was released through his lips and, crouching low to the ground, the Boss took off into the air, soaring through the the rooftops as he jumped and glided his way to the old casino he'd taken over years before. Landing in front of the steps to the casino, the Boss rolled his shoulders and walked up to the doors, ignoring the people he scared when he landed.

Pushing open the doors to the casino, the Boss nearly jerked backwards when Matt Miller was there to greet him, standing all but in his face. A smile graced his blue lips, and the Boss took him by the shoulder to push him backwards a bit. "So Matt...what are we-"

"The world's greatest vigilante needs our help in drawing out his arch nemesis-"

"Is this Nyteblade?" The Boss asked bluntly, his pierced brow raising slowly and effectively cutting off Miller's speech. Matt had seemed a little too excited about his work, and the only time the Boss had ever seen him look excited was when he spoke of Nyteblade. The hacker looked shocked about being interrupted so quickly, but the Boss continued to follow after him as Matt led him to the main lounge. Slot machines lined the walls and walkways, and the Boss took in the sight. It's been too long. "Well...you are a Nyteblade fanboy. Wouldn't be shocked."

"P-please!" Matt stuttered in an alarmed tone. "I'm not one of those forum stalking hacks that spit out poorly constructed, badly edited wish fulfillment brimming with canon-breaking-" The Boss let himself blank out after that, content with watching the hacker flush red in embarrassment as he defended himself. A chuckle, and the Boss withdrew his two gold-plated .45 Fletcher Heavy pistols. The two pistols were reloaded and a familiar snarling filled his ears. "H-here they come!"

Zombies. It had to be zombies. The Boss raised the guns and opened fired on the charging creatures. Blood poured from their noses and lips, their eyes were dead and lifeless and their arms were outstretched to grab them. The Boss swiftly kicked a zombie back, shooting it through the head before it could even think of getting up. "These are zombies, Matt."

"Uh...you need to be prepared for anything?" The hacker put in quietly, backing up towards the Boss and keeping the man safe from any zombies that dared to try and sneak up on him. The zombies dropped like flies; bullets pelted through their heads with ease, a practiced and well used technique in murder.

"How long have you been working on this simulation?" The Boss finally asked midst the rotten corpses. Matt glanced back at him and gave a wary smile, unsure if the Boss was going to laugh at him for all of this.

"I...uh...wrote the original short story between Seasons 2 and 3, when it seemed Nyteblade may be retiring so he set about finding the one person who could take his place-"

"Oh Matt...sweet, little Matty..." The Boss shook his head and Matt flushed with something akin to anger.

"Nyteblade has a rich cosmology merely hinted at in the television series! As with many classic genre shows, the universe belongs to as much as the fans as the creators!" His pistol raised, Matt shot a few times into each zombie that ran for him. The Boss was mildly impressed.

"I ain't judging..."

"You're not?" A curious glance to him, and a crooked grin marred the Boss' face.

"No. I am. But I really don't want to have this conversation right now." The Boss disregarded the pout that surfaced on Matt's face, and soon enough the zombies began to dribble away to nothing but corpses on the green floor. Stepping over them, the Boss paused when he heard a familiar voice. A voice of the man he's wanted to punch repeatedly until blood spurted from his perfect nose. Josh Birk...or currently, Nyteblade.

"Good work you two...Especially you, Matt..." Nyteblade's voice was thick over the mic, and the Boss fought not to wince at it. Josh Birk was always far too dramatic when he acted. It usually put off from the true performance. The Boss heard Matt say something, but Nyteblade continued, "The bad news is the Cardinal is not in the Three Count as we originally thought." The Boss couldn't help but let out an annoyed sigh.

"So where is he?" He found himself asking aloud and his tone made Matt frown, if only the slightest. Nyteblade, over the "phone" didn't seem to acknowledge his less than enthusiastic tone.

"Meet me outside the casino. I am on my way." When the line went dead, the Boss nearly jumped out of his skin at the hacker's loud exclamation. It was a miracle to see just how quickly Matt sprinted towards the entrance to the casino, completely forgetting there was a second member of his team. Another deep breath, and the Boss jogged after the nerdy hacker. Around the corner, the Boss paused when he saw the doors get kicked open and a mildly glitching version of Nyteblade came flipping in. The Boss took a step back, but kept his face blank.

"Hello Matt. It's good to see you again." Nyteblade addressed Matt, before turning his gaze on the Boss. "And you must be the protege I've heard so much about." A slight nod and a roll of his eyes was the answer the Boss offered. Nyteblade took it. "The Cardinal is on the move, but I have good intelligence regarding his final destination." The Boss' brow rose. Nyteblade was using large words; words he couldn't ever picture Birk using. "I'll lead you to him. Stay close, but not too much. We don't want to give my nemesis too easy a target." Nyteblade gestured to the duo, before dashing out through the front doors again.

Stepping out through the front doors, the Boss let himself grin devilishly. If there was one thing the Boss loved best about whatever Matt had told him about Nyteblade, it had to be the vehicles. Nyteblade climbed aboard his motorcycle, watching the duo and waiting for them to take their seats in Nyteblade's car. Dashing down the steps, and leaving Matt in his dust, the Boss slid across the hood and leapt through the window into the driver's seat. "Hurry up, Matty!" He called to the hacker. A swallow, and Matt climbed into the passenger's seat.

Nyteblade took off, driving down the street and leaving the Boss pressing deep into the gas pedal. The vehicle jerked sharply, nearly flying out of the parking space after the horribly moving Bloody Cannoness motorcycle. "Dumb asshole..." The Boss cursed quietly through his teeth. "It's like he's trying to crash into everything..." He heard Matt continue to grumble things beneath his own breath and the vehicle settled into an uncomfortable atmosphere. A sigh from Matt.

"So, what do you think?" A quiet question drew the Boss' gaze off the road and towards the bumbling hacker sitting in the passenger's seat. "You have to be having some sort of fun?"

"I do?" A brow raised higher than the other, and Matt appeared to grit his teeth together in an annoyed way.

"At least a little bit?" There came a soft, sort of worried tone in Matt's voice, and this time the Boss offered a crooked grin.

"Killing zombies is never not fun, Matt." A hand was removed from the steering wheel, reaching over to wildly ruffle Matt's dark hair. Matt let out a noise of complaint and all but smacked the Boss' rough hands away. Their conversation continued; the duo followed behind Nyteblade like an obedient dog, chatting about the kid's favorite show. Matt's gaze shifted to the window, a grin stretching across his pale little face. As if on cue, a group of four Bootleggers shot out from the alleyways and damn near rammed into the vehicle that the Boss was driving, and the motorcycle as well. The Boss snarled like a rabid animal, and Matt flinched. He barely registered Nyteblade's call to action.

The Boss jumped from the car before Nyteblade could get off his motorcycle, whipping out his Heavy Pistols once again and aiming at those who dared try to dent this car. "Attacked en route to the main villain, eh? Nicely played. Good escalation of conflict." Matt let out a tiny blubber, and the Boss took it as an excuse to keep going, "So I'm not really up to date on Nyteblade fiction." At those simple words, Matt spouted off like a fire hydrant. Each simulated member of the Cyprian Order was dealt with as Matt spoke, his face practically glowing. Nyteblade climbed back aboard the motorcycle when the members were all dead, and the Boss had to drag Matt back to the car.

The topic of the Cyprian Order changed to love interests with a simple question and the Boss had to keep himself from laughing at just how excited Matt grew with every passing detail. It sort of made the man want to watch the show, just to see if it was as good as Matt made it sound. But all that happiness faded when Matt noticed their surroundings. Nyteblade had stopped just outside of a large gothic church. "Uh...why are we here?" Matt seemed confused, and the Boss knew something was wrong. "Excuse me! Nyteblade! I thought we had to lure out the Cardinal first!" Nyteblade slid off the motorcycle near mechanically, moving up the steps to the Church.

Matt followed, and the Boss behind him, slamming his door shut and stepping after Matt. He kept close; Matt was apart of his crew and he didn't trust how this was going."I've enjoyed your story well enough." Zinyak's voice echoed throughout the simulation, and the Boss tensed like an alarmed animal. "But I thought your ending could use a little work." He wasn't the only one to become enraged.

"What are you doing to my story!" Matt had snapped towards the sky where the projection of Zinyak's voice was loudly. His hands curled into fists, tightening to the point where his knuckles turned white. The Boss snapped at Matt to step away from Nyteblade, but Matt lashed out at him next. "I will not! I won't have some effete alien dictator stomping all over my expanded universe fiction!" Matt went up the steps after Nyteblade, but the man turned to face him; his face held a look resembling betrayal.

"Matt Miller! I thought you were my ally!" Nyteblade's tone was still even, and Matt blubbered something about being his ally. "Now...I find you are actually a pawn of the Cardinal!" The Boss substituted his pistols in favor of his Semi Automatic shotgun, fighting the wince at the loud, over-dramatic tone Nyteblade yelled. He jumped into action when Nyteblade whipped out his own pistol, aiming at Matt and ready to end the poor little hacker's life.

"See? Isn't this much better?" Zinyak chuckled darkly, and the Boss, despite Matt's cries of shock, began to fire at Nyteblade. Members of the Cyprian Order began to show up, rolling out of their red and white Bootleggers and attacking the Boss, trying to distract him from saving Matt from Nyteblade's attack. The Boss kept true, ignoring the way Nyteblade spouted off nonsense and the way Matt brought up his pistol and killed off the Cyprian Order. This allowed the Boss to focus on the crazy man.

After the tenth direct hit from his shotgun, Nyteblade fell and the Boss stood over him with a grim frown. Matt stepped up beside him, both of them ignoring Zinyak's disappointment as Matt's shoulders slumped. As Zinyak's voice ended, Matt looked to the Boss with a frown. "Can we just get out here? I can't stand the way this turned out..." The Boss frowned himself, looking towards the church with a sullen look. He decided to channel his inner Benjamin, and he glanced back to Matt.

"We're not done yet." He growled out, and Matt looked at him with the most befuddled look on his face. When he didn't speak, the president kept speaking, "Not until you get your powers." Matt's brow rose in confusion.

"Powers?" He spoke weakly. Realization dawned on his face next. "Powers?! How would I...! You mean from Nyteblade?" The broken look molded into a weak smile, and the Boss took another deep breath.

"The fight against the creatures of the night and the fellows that turned on him must continue." The Boss clenched his free hand into a fist, putting a determined and vengeful look on his own face. "Don't let Franklin Nyte die in vain." Matt's weak smile morphed into a wide grin; the smile stretched ear to ear, and the Boss suddenly covered his eyes from the bright, illuminating flash that surrounded Matt. His clothing changed; a long purple cape hung from his neck and old, yet techno styled armor covered Matt's frame. "And Matt. If this makes any difference..."

"Yes?" Matt turned to face the Boss, his eyes damn near sparkling with enthusiasm and excitement.

"As the sole living leader of planet Earth, this is probably within my right: I hereby assign you all rights, titles, and licenses, and possible merchandise, to the Nyteblade property." The noise that came from Matt's lips sounded inhuman, and the male seemed frozen in place from the very short speech the Boss spoke."But on one condition..."

"Of course! Anything!"

"Never stop."


	2. Chapter 2: Girl's Night Out

There was rage. Pure, unadulterated rage behind Shaundi's words as she spoke her plans of ending Veteran Child's life. After being freed from her simulated Hell and killing Veteran Child repeatedly, by use of the Disintegration gun, she had found out that the drug addicted DJ had infiltrated the Boss' simulation. Now, that wasn't a good thing. The Boss didn't want the druggy going after his crew. Especially now that he had Johnny back.

Landing on the roof of the Thunder Pump gas station, the Boss grinned devilishly down at the female standing there and waiting for him. Shaundi's eyes raised to meet his yellow orbs, his grinning face not at all helping her sour mood. Swinging down, the Boss landed on the sidewalk beside the woman, leaning close and raising his brow at her. "So, where do we begin with the drugged DJ?" A cautious tilt of his head, unsure if he should really be helping the woman out with this.

"Veteran Child is getting ready to give a DJ concert in the park. " Shaundi moved towards the Eiswolf she had parked there, tapping the hood with a manicured nail. "The last thing I want is him setting up shop and coming after me again. Which is why- HEY!" Shaundi let out a loud noise of anger when an arm from her party girl self wrapped around her shoulder and covered her mouth with a hand.

"Chill, this'll take a sec." She told Shaundi with a smile. "Which is why we need to score something to boost us up for killing that douchebag." Shaundi yanked Retro Shaundi's hand off her mouth and gave the Boss a look that made a shiver race up his spine. He hated that look. "There's deals goin' on all around this city. We crash in, wipe out any resistance, and party with whatever they've got." The Boss opened his mouth to object, but she intervened again. "Trust me. This alien shit should give us an edge!"

A hand scrubbed down his face in an annoyed way, and he glanced towards Shaundi, whom still look enraged at the very idea. "Listen. We're gonna go do the drug thing with Shaundi."

"Wait! Why are we helping this burnout?" She snapped as the Boss nudged her to the side and slid into the front seat. He would have used his powers, but he didn't want to leave his girls behind, running to catch up to him. Older Shaundi took the seat beside him while the other Shaundi sat in the back. "Veteran Child is out there and you're gonna help her score drugs?"

"Hey, I'm just trying to give us an edge." Younger Shaundi piped up from the backseat as the Boss set the vehicle to drive. A sigh; he knew this will be a long night. The two girls will do nothing but argue and he accepted the fact that he was never going to get peace and quiet when he was with the duo.

"Both of you, cut it out!" The Boss finally snapped, startling the two girls out of their argument. "Veteran Child isn't going anywhere and helping out young Shaundi first isn't going to hurt. If she says it could help us, then I feel like we should try it." Driving down the street in a silence now, the Boss felt the beginnings of a headache begin to fade away to nothing. That was nice. At least for a bit.

"If you even think of calling me 'Old Shaundi' I am going to shoot you." Shaundi growled in a dark tone and the Boss listened quietly as the car faded into silence once again. Younger Shaundi gave a light tap on the Boss' shoulder and jabbed her finger to the side at a bunch of old-raggedy looking vehicles. The vehicle was parked and older Shaundi leaned out of the car to fire her weapon out across the men and women. They had been taken by surprise and fell to the ground while the remaining alive took shelter, and the Boss rolled out of the front seat.

"The dealer ducked around the corner!" Younger Shaundi yelled, climbing out of the car and dashing after the man who tried to make his escape. She jumped the fence in the back, leaving the Boss and older Shaundi behind to end the lives of the rest of the dealers. The people in green reminded the Boss vaguely of the Sons of Samhedi back in Stilwater. Once the last man was dealt with, the Boss and Shaundi ran the way the younger woman ran, jumping the fence and sliding around the corner.

Younger Shaundi had her foot planted firmly into the dealer's back, grinning softly at the two when they arrived. "Kill the dealer and let's go." She said, and the Boss simple put a bullet in the back of the man's head. The pack of drugs was removed from his jacket pocket and the Boss held them out to the younger woman. The drugs were taken, and were prepared in a broken light bulb.

The light burning smell of drugs flooded the Boss' senses when the bulb was offered to him. He took it from young Shaundi's fingers, taking in a deep breath. It wasn't strong; not in the very least and it left a bad taste in the back of his throat. Compared to the Loa Dust back in Stilwater, this alien drug was pathetic. And judging by the looks on the Shaundi's faces, they felt the same way.

"This doesn't look like the right stuff..." Younger Shaundi said in a disappointed fashion. The remainder of the bag was dropped on the ground and a pout crossed her plump lips. "Damn it. This dealer was sellin' a low grade knockoff!"

"Or maybe, it just doesn't do anything. Like I said earlier!" Older Shaundi was quick to growl out through her perfectly white teeth.

"Hey! I'm the expert here! Trust me...this wasn't a shit we were after!" Both Shaundi's looked towards the Boss, who had begun to drown out their arguing once again. When he felt eyes on him, he glanced at the duo. One of them looked hopeful, the other was angry.

"Listen...we'll give this plan of yours one more shot, and then we'll help Shaundi..." He paused. "The...uh...other Shaundi..." He jabbed a finger at the angry woman, turning his back on them as he jogged back to the car. The Boss cut out their arguing; it was the best he could do because the headache urges he was getting earlier were coming back strongly. He slid in the front seat, barely catching the hurt tone of younger Shaundi's voice.

It was easy to avoid oncoming traffic as he cut into the other lane. It was a thing he'd done plenty of times and the car settled into an unnatural silence. The next dealing, hopefully for the right drug, was close to the Three Count Casino, and there were many enemies here. The dealers aimed their guns immediately when they spotted the Boss' car. As usual, he was out of it first, tossing fire at the men and women that dared try and stop him.

The Boss jumped the fence, only to plant his fist into the first dealer's face when he was over. He beat them until they no longer moved, and from the corner of his eye, he saw younger Shaundi run towards a single man, who seemed to be cowering by a large set of stairs. Older Shaundi was with her; the attackers had been dealt with and he hoped to god that these were the legit drugs younger Shaundi spoke about.

"Do we really have to do this?" Older Shauni asked in an exasperated tone.

"Girl, we've been shot, lit on fire, hit by cars, and now kidnapped by aliens!" Younger Shaundi was quick to cut in, her foot kicking the dealer harshly in his side, hard enough to make him drop the drugs he was trying to shelter. The Boss put a bullet in his head. "One of these days, we're not gonna get back up. And when that day comes, if we haven't gotten high off of alien narcotics, we have not lived a life we can be proud of."

"I'll pass this shit." Shaundi growled in a resignated tone. The drug was prepared and passed around in a lightbulb and the Boss knew this was the right drug. It burned his throat in a pleasant way and he had to cough a few time to clear the smoke from his lungs.

"Maybe it takes a little bit to kick in?" Younger Shaundi seemed confused, and she touched the drug package with a curious touch.

"I knew this was a bust!" Older Shaundi growled. "Come on! You promised to go after Veteran Child now!" Shaundi stamped her foot impatiently, and the Boss backed away from the corpse and his girls. He stepped out into the middle of the street. He popped his fingers, feeling smoke curl around in the pit of his stomach. The smoke began to spread; his veins began to feel as though they were on fire.

"Whoa!" The Boss yelled, lightning crackling behind his eyes. He strained his eyes to see; Shaundi and Younger Shaundi both seemed to be feeling the same pulse through their own veins. "My powers...my powers feel limitless!" Fire swirled around his fingertips and the world rocked and swayed and appeared to glitch about in his drugged haze. "What the hell was that?!"

"I feel so...powerful!" Shaundi laughed, and the sound made the Boss grin. It had been far too long since he had heard that sound. Power surged around the girls' hands, and blasts were fired out into a crowd of massively glitching individuals.

"Man, when was the last time you smoked up, hun?" The Boss laughed loudly, using his fire to torch people alive. He felt positively powerful, far more powerful than he usually felt whenever he used his powers. The rocking behind his eyes overpowered his urge to listen to his girls; they were talking excitedly, seeming to get along. It was great to see. "When the last time I smoked up?" A curious question to himself. Despite all the rocking, and the crackling in his ears, the Boss heard the girls.

"I'll bet that I'm faster than you." Younger Shaundi cooed to her counterpart, and the Boss paused. In an instant, both girls took off down the street, leaving the Boss standing in their dust. He stood there, confused, before he shook his head fiercely and dashed after them to keep up. They were racing now, bouncing all over the god damn city in order to decide who indeed was faster than the other. The Boss fought to keep up; his girls were quick on their feet and giving him no chance to catch his breath. "Guys! What about Veteran Child?!"

With a mighty leap, he found them on top of a building, facing off against each other with power flickering from their fingertips. They were back to arguing, although it was more playful than full of rage. The Boss backed up immediately when they threw large balls of power and death at each other, and the only thing they succeeded in was hurting each other rather than the man they really should be hurting. They climbed back to their feet with groans of pain.

"Will you guys cut it out? We've still got Veteran Child to find!" He snapped and he was rewarded with dual apologies. Stepping to the side, he glared out over the park, seeing a large DJ booth stepped up. With his drugged mind, he could see Veteran Child providing the jams, and people dressed as furries were rocking out to his beats. What the fuck? Another leap, and the Boss landed right in the center of the action. The furries backed away from him, but Veteran Child seemed pleased he was here.

"Looks like we have some special guests here that are trying to crash our fun!" His words seemed to rile up the furries and they faced the Boss and the Shaundi's with their fists, ready to beat the three to pieces. The Boss wasn't going to stand for that. He ripped his alien rifle out and began to fire at each furry, angry at the very thought that furries were attracted to Veteran Child's concert.

"When have furries ever liked Veteran Child?!" He snapped loudly over each laser bullet shot from his rifle. The girls exchanged glances; Younger Shaundi seemed to grin wider with each passing second.

"These are just a bunch of college kids, Boss..." She snorted and younger Shaundi laughed.

"Total lightweight."

"Damnit." He growled and, with an even angrier attitude, he shot every person full of lead. He gave them no time to retaliate and as the last one fell, he turned towards the DJ, whom was still safely behind that damn force field. "Looks as though your crowd has fallen flat. Guess you should've hired some real bodyguards." He stepped towards the shield, laying his hand it. "Now get your ass out of there so I can beat you until you can't move." Veteran Child laughed, and the sound only pissed him off more.

"Oh don't worry. The crowd was just to soften you up." Veteran Child snapped his fingers, and a small army of Veteran Child's fell from the sky, making the Boss curse loudly and turn his guns on them. Shaundi backed away slowly, and another chuckle came from the DJ. "I always told you Shaundi. There was always so much more of me to love." This was beginning to grow creepy to the Boss.

"Quit confusing love and loathe, pervert!" Younger Shaundi snapped at the man, before her eyes focused on the Boss and her older self. "We gotta find a way through that shield."

"Shaundi! Do you think you can figure it out? I'll deal with these assholes!" Shaundi ran for the shield generators, much to the confusion of the younger. A brief exclamation of 'I grew better with tech stuff' left younger Shaundi pleased. His fire proved helpful; the Boss flung fire at every ugly, drugged man he saw, and the more he killed, the doubles seemed to grow tougher. "These guys are getting stronger and stronger!"

"Yeah! But it seems the stronger the doubles become, the weaker the shield gets. Kill 'em all!" Shaundi snapped at him, and the Boss returned to the murder. He switched from fire to ice, freezing the Dj's and knocking the small shields off them. There were only three left now, and by the time he finished with them, the overall shield surrounding the main Veteran Child collapsed.

"No! What have you done?!" Veteran Child pressed his face into the panels and both Shaundi's stood there, glowering at the man with hatred. The Boss approached, wrapping ringed fingers through the DJ's dreads and yanking his head up.

"Guess it's just you now, Veteran Child." He hissed, his free hand balling up into a fist and ready to punch the man, just as he promised. His arm wound back and came forward to bash the man across his ugly jaw. "The fuck!?" The Boss jerked back when the DJ suddenly vanished, and when he turned around, there were two of them, standing behind each Shaundi with a gun aimed at their head.

"Who lives and who dies?" He hissed. It was his ace in the hole, hoping to make the Boss choose who got to live here. The girls, his girls weren't going to have any of that though.

"Fuck that!" Shaundi spat, elbowing Veteran Child hard in the jaw. Her counterpart, on the other hand, kicked out her own assailant's leg, and both ripped the pistol from Veteran Child's hands. The gun raised, they both blasted holes into the opposite Child, killing the man behind each other. The Boss never felt more proud. "That was awesome." Shaundi beamed.

"Told'ja we were the same." The younger cooed sweetly. The Boss snorted and glanced in between the two girls.

"So...we're cool?"

"Yeah..." Shaundi grinned. "We're cool." The younger chuckled.

"Totally cool."


	3. Chapter 3: King of Dance

"Hey playa. It seems Tanya's found her way into the simulation and is building up her empire." The Boss paused at Benjamin King's voice. His eyes turned skyward towards the ceiling of the store he stood within; his hand set a piece of clothing back on the rack. Well, that acquired information ruined his mood to shop for any further clothing.

"How the hell is she doin' that?" The Boss snapped at the ceiling, where the projection of King's voice was strongest.

"She's corrupting people with some sort of virus that's turning them all into her sex trade workers. Matt's figured out how to stop it, and once that's done we need to end Tanya for good." Malice was held in King's voice as he spoke ill of the simulated version of Tanya. She may not have been the real deal, but her death was necessary or there would be a whole army of whores running rampant in the simulation.

"I'm in." The Boss replied without any hesitation in his voice. Stepping out of the Leather and Lace, the Boss readjusted his new Leather Jacket. It stretched across his skin with rich colors of violet and gold and a pair of Aviator sunglasses were pulled over his yellow eyes. The leather biker pants matched his jacket color-wise, and the Boss stepped out into the street. An old, ratty Bootlegger stopped before it collided with him, and the horn was honked by an annoyed driver.

His grin grew crooked, his pierced lip glinted in the light of the head-beams, and the Boss' foot lashed out to kick the vehicle away. With the help of his powers, the Bootlegger and its driver were sent flying through the air; the vehicle impacted the side of the building and he could hear the alarmed shriek of the driver. A police siren sounded somewhere behind him and the Boss figured now was the best time to make himself scarce. Hands planting into the ground, the dark-haired Boss lurched upwards into the air, fingers digging into the side of the nearest building. Using momentum, he used his legs to propel himself upwards to the roof.

Landing on the very top of the building, the Boss brought up his Hub and checked his Map. Scanning the area in which Ben wanted to meet him, he noticed that the location was indeed outside of Kinzie's old hideout. He briefly wondered if he should just leave the simulation and then reenter it at a closer door. In his mind, he decided to go along with his idea. The closest door to him was out in the middle of the road a few streets down, so the Boss headed in that direction, ignoring the police cars that wanted to be rid of him. He stepped through the door without any thought.

He woke up on the ship, staring at Shaundi's face as the woman passed through. She gave him a wave as she walked, and he let his eyes close once again to reenter the simulation. This time, he was in the old Decker territory. The warehouse was much closer now and the police were not on his tail this time. Their minds had been reset and they couldn't remember having even chased him. The glide to the warehouse didn't take long and when he arrived, he found Benjamin King standing beside an old, grey helicopter.

"So what's goin' on with Tanya, Ben?" The Boss asked his Chief of Staff as he approached. Benjamin pushed off the copter and moved closer to the President.

"Tanya's been bringin' Vice Kings into the simulation and building up her empire, but now she's got a new way of recruiting. She's infected some people with a virus that turns them into her very own sex worker slaves. If that virus spreads-"

"Then we've got a fuckin' army of sex slaves. Jesus Christ." The Boss shook his head and moved towards the helicopter, intent on finding and ending Tanya and her virus before it did indeed spread. Benjamin climbed into the front seat, hitting a few buttons and pulling the copter up into the sky. The Boss leaned back into the soft cushions of the copter and he glanced out the door.

"Matt's found out a way of killin' the virus completely." Good old Matty. "So I'm gonna take you to all the ones infected, have you absorb that virus, and then I'll take you to her club, Technically Legal and we'll give Tanya a taste of her own medicine." A firm nod and the helicopter pulled out over the tops of the buildings, and the Boss could see three figures not too far off. Two of them were Vice Kings, and the third one he presumed was someone whom had been infected with Tanya's whore virus.

The copter landed, and the Boss climbed out, eyeing the trio as the woman danced provocatively in front of them. His Pump Shotgun was removed and reloaded. A firm look was on his face as he stepped off the side of the building. The two men were startled, reaching for their weapons but they were blown back by a single bullet to the chest. Their bodies crumpled against the wall, blood oozing from their chests. The virus-infected person jumped back and whipped out her own pistol.

"Sorry to break up this party!" He laughed. The Boss blasted the woman full of holes; the weapon appeared to not really do any damage to her. She stumbled back, her green bikini was stained red with blood that wasn't there.

"Matt said you're not actually a simulation, so you should be able to absorb the virus and not be afflicted." Benjamin King's voice swirled in his head as the woman stumbled back, gripping her head as she fought to regain balance. Her pistol had fallen uselessly to the ground. Power began to swirl across his fingertips as he approached the woman, only to jab his hand through her belly.

An eruption of power nearly sent the Boss backwards, but he held through. "I don't like the sound of that 'should'." He spat through the pain beginning to trickle through his bones. A bright flash of light and his arm was ripped out. The scantily clad woman was nothing more than a feeble old woman now.

"You a'ight? How you feelin'?" Benjamin asked and the Boss gave himself a once-over. A yell of alarm and the Boss' head snapped towards the sky where Benjamin hovered in the copter.

"I'm fine...but what the hell am I wearing?!" His leather jacket had been replaced with a ugly green crop top that showed off a large portion of his hairy chest.

"Oh sorry..." Matt's voice replaced Benjamin's. "Forgot to mention. It's just a temporary change; nothing permanent. Though, the absorption seems to have worked perfectly. No sign of the virus left in that person." The Boss jumped back on top of the building when a vehicle belonging to the Vice Kings pulled sharply into the same alley.

"The next infected person's on the move!" Benjamin snapped loudly over Miller and the Boss cursed loudly and jumped away. Climbing up to a higher building, another curse was torn from his lips at a vehicle driving swiftly through the streets. It was white in color, weaving through and around other cars and driving through red-lights and stop signs.

"Stop the vehicle anyway you can! We can't let the infection spread!" Matt had cried next and the Boss removed his Rocket Launcher. Reloading it, he jumped higher into the air and glided down to a closer location. Next, he let ice swirl around his hand and launched a large ball at the car, freezing the people inside and the gears. The Boss landed on the street in front of the car, heaving the rocket launcher onto his shoulder and aiming it at the vehicle. The trigger was pulled and with a sense of satisfaction, he watched the rocket fly towards the vehicle and impact.

Fire flew in all directions, and the Boss let out a sharp bark of laughter. Bodies landed heavily on the cement, blood oozing from their blown apart wounds. The virus-infected person, whom was dressed in a pink gorilla costume, was the only survivor. They turned to face him, his wounded torso healing with the effects of the virus. "Shit." The Boss whipped out his baseball bat, dashing towards the man. "Tanya turned this man into a furry." He pointed out as he began to bash the costumed man repeatedly with his American flag colored bat.

"Tanya's always had her own tastes." Benjamin put in quietly. When the furry couldn't move anymore, the Boss kept the man pinned as he shoved his hand through his chest and all but ripped the virus from his body. The same bright light flashed, and the Boss felt a weight on his head. Removing the item, he glared hard at the cowboy hat that had made a home on his head. A deep sigh, and he placed the item back over his groomed hair, ignoring the confused, yet no longer infected man as he shakily got to his feet.

"The last one's over by the church." A nod, and the Boss chased after the helicopter as it flew off in the general direction. The Boss evaded around vehicles in the road, only sliding to a halt when he was faced with a large group of Vice Kings with a single Gimp sitting patiently in between them all. The Vice Kings turned on him and withdrew their weapons. Keeping his baseball bat out, he braced himself for the bullets as he beat every Vice King to the ground. The metal bat collided with the final Vice King's head, a fine spray of blood splashing from his broken nose and blood sprinkling from his lips.

A bullet pierced his back, and the Boss whirled around and bashed the Gimp hard in the stomach. The scantily-clad man stumbled back, nearly dropping the pistol he held, but the Boss gave him no time to recover as he continued his assault. The Gimp stood no chance, and the virus suffered the same fate. He could hear Benjamin's awkward cough and Matt's yelp after the light died down. "Are you fucking kidding me? What was the point of shopping if I ended up dressed like this!?" His leather biker pants had been replaced with a purple g-string, and his heavy biker boots replaced with ugly shoes, and leg warmers. "Shoot me now."

"Time to head to Technically Legal." Benjamin put in, trying to distract the Boss from what he was now adorned in. The Boss groaned loudly, but followed along after the helicopter, still grumbling his distaste aloud. He landed on the roof first, glaring hotly at the elevator. Benjamin landed the copter upon the roof and stepped out calmly, stretching out the crooks in his back and neck. Without waiting for Benjamin to say anything, the Commander in Chief jumped off the roof and entered in through the back doors.

Angrily, he stomped into the main room, but the flashing lights and dubstep playing over the speakers seemed to calm the rage in the man. The provocative looks a few women and men sent him certainly raised his self esteem and a raunchy grin seemed to pass over his face. His stomping became a strut, a silent need to impress these holographic people within his simulation. His eyes fell on a sign he passed by. Amateur Night. "Hold on Ben. Meet me by the back stage door. There's something I need to do."

"Didja find Tanya?" Benjamin asked as he came through the front doors, stepping up beside the man guarding the stage door.

"No. But I found out it's Amateur Night!" The Boss laughed, jogging up to the man beside Benjamin. The Boss glanced to Benjamin's face as he reached out to accept the board from the bouncer. The board fit perfectly in his grasp and Benjamin stared at the President with his mouth hanging open in pure shock.

"Are you serious?" Benjamin snapped at him, glaring at the Boss as he signed his name with a wide grin overtaking his lips. "We don't have time for this!" The man crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at the Boss and he merely returned the glare with that same cheesy ass grin.

"Ben...there is no time BUT this!" The Boss patted the man on the back, handing the board back to the Bouncer, who took it with his own grin. The brief set of eyes looking him over gave the Boss even higher self esteem and, before Benjamin could even stop him, he jogged through the stage door. He could hear Benjamin cursing and the Boss stepped out onto stage, in between two beautiful women standing on different stages on either side of him. Eyes turned to him, obviously distracted and their mouths hung open. "Showtime."

He dropped his bat to the floor beside him and turned his back to the crowd. He could hear their appreciated cheering echoing in his ears and the beat perfectly thrummed with the tap of his shoe. His hand balled into a fist, rocking gently with the music and his head leaned back, eyes up on the ceiling. "Hey Boss!" Benjamin's voice came through the music and he bared his teeth lightly.

"Not now, King. I'm in the zone!" The music hit the peak and the beat dropped. The Boss spun around, hips swaying provocatively, hands and arms rocking with the beat. The cheering fueled him, and the music charged through his body like lightning. His feet glided over the ground as he spun, sliding to his knees and tilting his head back, baring the nape of his neck to the crowd. His hips continued to rock, his hands moving as though beckoning the crowd to come and take a touch.

He rocked himself forward on all fours, his hands pressing into the stage and his head now swinging. The Boss' eyes were closed. He wanted to turn his gaze to Benjamin, if only to see the look on his face. It would have been a million dollar shot. The Boss jumped back up onto his feet, spinning in a swift circle, moving around and around and smacking the air near his hind end. The crowd seemed thirsty for the touch, and when he jumped off that stage as he finished, the Boss was amazed to see them forcing themselves to not latch onto him. "I didn't see Tanya in the crowd. Shame...her loss."

"That's because while you were 'in the zone', she took one look at you and high-tailed it towards the roof." Benjamin had stepped up beside him and the Boss looked over his face for any emotion. There was only rage; no shock, no awe. Damn it.

"Shit. C'mon Ben!" The Boss moved for the elevator, and Benjamin was not too far behind, managing to keep up with his scantily-clad Boss. By the time they reached the roof, Tanya was making a break for the side, a quite obvious shield covering her body. The Boss really hated those shields. Easy to take care of, but quite annoying to deal with.

"Ya got nowhere to run, Tanya!" Benjamin snapped loudly at her fleeing form, and she paused briefly to stare back over them with a smirk, her lips stained in red lipstick and one eyebrow raised higher than its twin.

"That's where you're wrong, sweetie!" She cooed, before the duo watched the woman leap away. She had her own powers and she was getting away! The Boss tore on after her before Benjamin could even snap at him. He would not let this woman escape. Not after all she's done. Building to building they lept; the Boss managed to keep up with her much to Tanya's dismay.

"Matt!" The Boss finally called out, hoping for an answer from the hacker. "You there?" His meek, little voice responded, sounding disheartened and slightly tramatized. The sound brought a grin to the Boss' face.

"God...I wish I wasn't, but yes. I'm here..."

"I was great, right? I mean, yeah I know I was but I wanna hear it from you too." The Boss waited, excited for the kid's horror. He heard Matt give an awkward cough and a soft clearing of his throat, and his grin grew impossibly wider.

"Right now I'm just trying to figure out whether or not there was some sort of residual effects from absorbing the virus..." He seemed nearly at a loss for words, and that sent a surge of pride through the Boss, his hand shooting out towards Tanya to grab her, only to barely miss as she darted out of the way. "I...I don't know what to call it..."

"It's called raw talent, Matt. And that wasn't the virus. That was something I was born to do." His weak response nearly made the Boss break out into abrupt laughter, but he held himself off when he saw Tanya land on a building top and remove an alien rifle.

"You think you can stop me? When I'm through with you, this whole city will be mine!" Her hands glowed red, a haunting color that the Boss recognized from the Warden's and other simulations that worked for Zinyak. The Boss let out a curse, dodging out of the way before the ball of red energy hit him. The Boss' hands grabbed at the side of the building, and the President hauled himself up over the edge.

"Not gonna happen, Tanya! I'm fulfilling two dreams tonight!" Her mouth fell open slightly and her head tilted to the side in confusion; he could see it when he landed on the roof with her and raised his assault rifle. "Unleashing the dance from within me..." He paused for dramatic effect. "And watching you die." Her eyebrows shot up in rage, her lips baring into a snarl.

"Is that what you call that convulsion on stage?" Tanya nearly roared the words at the Boss. A red hot flurry of rage flashed from within him and the Boss glared heatedly at the woman.

"DON'T YOU DARE INSULT MY TALENT!" A thick gob of ice was hurled at the woman, freezing her to the roof as he released a hailstorm of bullets at her. Her shield disabled, she stepped back with each gruesome blast from his gun. As quick as it was gone, the shield was back up and Tanya was fleeing from him again. The Boss snorted and lunged after her, leaping off the building and gliding after the angry woman. She seemed desperate to escape and Benjamin's voice calling out to him left him with a sense of duty. "You got it Ben!"

When she landed on the roof to another building, the Boss followed her, only to once again dodge around a blast of energy. "I'm gonna kill you! And then I'm gonna find that coward, King, and make him suffer!" She spat venom at the Boss and he grit his teeth together, beginning to grow tired of her games.

"Hey! He's not the one who keeps running!" The Boss snapped loudly in response, bringing his gun forward to bash her hard across the face. The hit was so forceful, and he was damn sure it would never be repeated, that the shield surrounding her busted from the hit, shattering like glass. The force of her shield breaking sent the woman stumbling backwards. He took the opportunity, bashing her fiercely a few more times, before taking a firm grasp of her, spinning around three times to generate speed.

Her alarmed cry went unnoticed as he released her and let the woman go sailing off in the direction of the park. The sight of her flailing body made the Boss nearly choke on his laughter, but he calmed down enough to speak. "King! She's in the park! I'll meet you there!" Benjamin's confirmation set the Boss into motion, and he dived off the roof to get to the park after King. If case the woman was alive, he didn't want Benjamin being there with her alone.

He landed in front of the woman's body. Tanya was leaning up against the fountain, her chin against her chest. She looked dead. Crouching in front of her, he let yellow eyes rave over her form. Behind him, he could hear Benjamin land the helicopter and run over to them. "Oh shit I think I killed her..." He grumbled to himself. The Boss moved to stand, but a powerful blast of red energy caused him to go flying backwards. He hit the ground, groaning slightly.

"K-Killed me?" Her voice was weak and the Boss sat up, only to see Benjamin stalking towards the woman with a pistol in his grip. "I don't think so..." She spat the words, her head raising to glare at the man as he stopped in front of her. King's face remained passive; from where he was, the Boss saw no emotion. The gun was raised, aimed at the woman's head.

"No Tanya." Benjamin spat right back at her. "You should have never fucked with me or my crew!" His eyes flashed with rage, and the Boss wearily got to his feet; the bare skin of his calves scraped along the ground as he stood. Tanya, although staring death in the face, grinned.

"Please...you don't have the balls." Benjamin had turned away from her, but as those words left Tanya's lips, he stopped. He stood there in a silence, before he whipped around, pulling the trigger to the pistol. Her brains were blown out through the back of her head, and Benjamin lowered the pistol, his face twisted in a way that left the Boss feeling a bit uneasy.

"You never could die with dignity..." He spat at the body, lowering the gun completely. The gun was dropped in front of Tanya's body and King stepped away, moving towards the Boss with a more cheerful expression. There was the King he knew.

"Matt. She dead this time?" The Boss asked aloud, looking to the sky for Matt's confirmation. The two waited patiently for the hacker's reply. Tensions began to rise again. He was taking too long to reply.

"Yep!" His cheery, British voice finally responded. This prompted the duo to breathe a sigh of utmost relief. "There's no signs of her or her virus left in the simulation." The sound of Matt's typing relaxed and the two smiled at each other, pleased to know it was finally over for Tanya. For good.

"Good..." Benjamin breathed. "One less thing to worry about."


End file.
